Harvard Health Content API

There are two types of swallowing problems. Difficulty swallowing is called dysphagia. Painful swallowing is called odynophagia. With odynophagia, you feel pain or a burning sensation in the throat or esophagus when you swallow. It can be caused by many factors, such as esophagitis, GERD, esophageal dysmotility, and infections. Some medications, such as the antibiotic doxycycline, can also cause irritation that makes swallowing painful.

Tenesmus is the urge to have a bowel movement but nothing passes through the anus. It can be a symptom of inflammation in the rectum or lower colon, caused by an infection or inflammatory bowel disease. The inflammation triggers false signals to the nerves and muscles. People with irritable bowel syndrome might also experience tenesmus.

The metallic taste in your mouth could be due to a dry mouth, a change in the saliva, or your taste buds becoming more sensitive. Common reasons why these changes in saliva or taste bud sensitivity happen are:
•    Side effects of medicine. There are about 400 different drugs that can affect taste sensation.
•    Dehydration. You might not even be aware that you are not drinking enough water. 
Other causes include a sinus infection, acid reflux, or advanced kidney or liver disease. 
First, try drinking more water than your normally do. If you are taking any medicines or supplements, ask your pharmacist if one of them may be the cause. If the problem persists, arrange a visit with your doctor.

Dyskinesia refers to difficulty with voluntary movement. The prefix "dys" comes from the Greek word describing something that is bad, abnormal, diseased or the opposite of the rest of the word. The suffix “kinesia” means motion. The term dyskinesia is often combined with the term "tardive," which means "lateness," or something that does not occur right away. Tardive dyskinesia is a dreaded and sometimes permanent side effect of taking certain medications. It is characterized by involuntary movements of the lips, tongue, trunk, arms and legs.

Polydipsia is the medical term for excessive thirst. When a person with diabetes develops a high blood sugar level, the kidneys cannot reabsorb all of the sugar passing through it. The excess sugar in the urine pulls out excess water from the body, leading to increased urination known as polyuria. The excessive thirst is essentially due to dehydration. Keeping blood sugar levels controlled will stop the symptoms.

This sounds like a subconjunctival hemorrhage. That’s the medical term for a couple of drops of blood that escape from one of the tiny blood vessels just below the surface of the eye. The blood is under the conjunctiva, the thin, clear layer of tissue that is the outermost coating of the eye. Most often, subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs spontaneously. Sometimes it is related to trauma. Cellulitis is a skin infection and could involve the eyelid, which might inflame the conjunctiva. But a cellulitis would be an unlikely direct cause of a subconjunctival hemorrhage.

The treatment for breast cancer depends on the staging or a determination of how far the cancer has spread. Most patients undergo surgery to remove the cancerous tissue, either with a mastectomy (removing the entire breast) or a lumpectomy (removing the cancer and some surrounding healthy tissue). Women who undergo lumpectomy often undergo radiation as well to kill any remaining cancer cells. Some patients also undergo chemotherapy either before surgery to shrink the tumor or after surgery to try to prevent a recurrence. Then depending on the type of breast cancer, some patients will undergo additional treatment with hormone therapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapies.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) itself does not directly cause erectile dysfunction (ED). But since both are common problems in older men they often occur together. The treatment of BPH with either medication or surgery may affect male sexual function, including ED.

To help determine the best treatment for persistent diarrhea, a medical evaluation to look for the underlying cause is necessary. Important factors include:

• Whether the stools are loose and watery or contain blood and mucous

• The person’s travel history

• If the person had a recent hospital stay or was taking antibiotics before the diarrhea started

• What drugs or supplements the person is taking that could be causing diarrhea as a side effect.